The Dickinson Market has officially opened on campus, and offers students a digital marketplace for their unwanted items. It was created and is run by Nathan Nguyen ‘25, a computer science major, and supported by the Center for Sustainability Education (CSE).
Last year, Nguyen wanted to create a platform that could give Dickinson students an outlet for their unneeded items. The existing Free Xchange program already took students’ old clothing and accessories, but he wanted to create a space where students could sell, buy or trade other types of items.
“I created Dson Market because I want a safe market platform to buy sell and trade stuff without all of the hassle like Ebay or Facebook marketplace,” he said.
He programmed a website for a project to see if it would be successful. When it was, he went to Lindsey Lyons, Director of Sustainability Learning at CSE, to get funding. Now, he works with Trang Vu ’25, CSE’s sustainability project manager intern to maintain the platform.
Dickinson had previously participated in a program like this, known as “Campus Wall,” and was particularly active in 2016 and 2017. The company went under in early 2023 and students have been unable to have a reliable service since then.
Lyons was excited to have another program that could help students and even faculty get rid of their stuff in a sustainable way. It eliminates the shipping element that Facebook Marketplace or Ebay usually requires, increases the ability to shop second hand and reduces the number of usable items going into the landfill. “We want Dson Market to be the default place for items people don’t want.” she said.
Dson Market website allows users to create a profile and then post their items. You also don’t have to sell items; they can be free to a good home. Need to get rid of your mini fridge for the summer? Post it on Dson Market. A recent advertisement was an older MacBook in good condition going for $100.
They also don’t have to be physical items. Goods and services can also be advertised by users. You must have a Dickinson ID to be able to join which keeps sketchy ads out of the mix. A third party is used for money exchange like Venmo or PayPal, so there is no buyer protection provided by Dson Market. You do have the opportunity to write reviews or request help if a product is unsatisfactory.
Dson Market is growing every day with almost 300 users. If you want to get started, go to https://dsonmarket.netlify.app/ to make an account. Once your profile is made you can start posting, buying, trading and selling.
Nguyen is also looking for more students to help manage the technical part of the website. If you are interested in computer science work and helping to manage a project like this, contact him at [email protected].
